Who Even Am I?

I was in the supermarket the other day, when someone from our old Church spotted me, smiled, and walked over. After the standard small talk, she asked the question I dread at the moment: “So, what are you up to these days?”

Cue the internal panic. My mouth opened, but my brain completely stalled. For years, I had a quick, pre-packaged answer. I was heavily involved in ministry, completely poured into our church community, and my identity was neatly wrapped up in that title. But now? Standing there in the middle of the supermarket, I had to face the awkward reality that I am currently in a blank space. I muttered something vague about “waiting on God and trusting His timing” but as she walked away, the question lingered in the air like a fog: I don’t even know who I am anymore!

If you’ve recently walked away from a long-term role, experienced a career shift, or stepped out of a season that used to define your whole schedule, you know exactly how unsettling this quiet can feel.

Human nature makes us crave labels. We wear our busyness, our roles, and our volunteer hours like security blankets. They tell the world, and us, that we are useful, needed, and important. But when God calls you out of a season and strips away the familiar routines, you are suddenly left sitting in the quiet with your own thoughts. It is incredibly tempting in those moments to rush out and grab the very next label available, just to stop the discomfort of feeling unlabelled. We want to hurry up and “do” something so we can feel like “someone” again.

But I am learning that this in-between season is not a loss of identity at all. It’s actually a divine rescue mission.

God pulls us into the quiet room to untangle our personal worth from our public output. He reminds us that He never fell in love with our titles, our packed plans, or our ability to run projects. He loves us. Jesus didn’t call the disciples because of what they could produce for the Kingdom; He called them simply to be with Him. Limbo land is the place where we learn the massive difference between performance and presence. It forces us to ask the heavy but healing question: Was my joy coming from being needed by people, or simply from being a daughter of the King? Ouch!

If you are navigating the blurry middle today and feeling a bit lost without your old routine, take a deep breath.

Your value didn’t stay behind in your past chapter, and it isn’t waiting for you at your next destination. You don’t need a fancy label or a frantic schedule to be significant. You are completely seen, deeply loved, and entirely safe right now, in the middle of the ordinary, messy, beautiful quiet. Trust the pause; God has you right where you need to be.